Haunted Churches and other Myths & Legends

Ettie

Location: Strelley (Nottinghamshire) - ChurchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Ettie has been named as the ghost that walks around the churchyard.

More Monks

Location: Stubbington (Hampshire) - Church of the Holy Rood, CroftonType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: A phantom monk is said to walk around this area. He may be connected to the sighting at the nearby Manor Hotel - an underground passageway is said to connect the two buildings.

Simon

Location: Sudbury (Suffolk) - St. Gregory's ChurchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1381 onwards?Further Comments: After Simon was murdered in 1381, the former archbishop of Canterbury's head was removed and buried here after being displayed in the Tower of London. He has reportedly been seen in the church. Simon's shade could also be to blame for the disembodied footsteps that also haunt the church.

John Chapman

Location: Swaffham (Norfolk) - ChurchType: LegendDate / Time: Fifteenth centuryFurther Comments: John Chapman was a pedlar living in the town who dreamt that if he stood on London Bridge he would hear good news. He travelled to London where he waited on the bridge for three days before telling a shopkeeper about the dream, but not about where he was from. The shopkeeper laughed at Chapman, and said that he himself had a dream of digging up treasure under a tree belonging to a pedlar in Swaffham, but was too wise to pursue 'silly dreams'. The pedlar returned home, dug under his tree and found great wealth that he used to rebuild the church.

Seeker

Location: Swaffham (Norfolk) - ChurchyardType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: One local man recalled how, as a boy, he was told about a ghostly woman who walked up and down the graves, as if looking for a particular headstone.

Whistle

Location: Swanton Morley (Norfolk) - ChurchType: Legend - Old NickDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: An old belief from this area of Norfolk was by running around the church at midnight and whistling through the keyhole, the Devil would be seen.

Moving Stones

Location: Talland (Cornwall) - ChurchType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: It is reported that construction on the church began further inland, but each night the foundation stones were moved by unseen hands - hence the church now stands here.

Those that will Die

Location: Tavistock (Devon) - ChurchType: LegendDate / Time: 23 June (or Midsummer Eve) (reoccurring)Further Comments: The spirits of those who will die during the following year come to the church on Midsummer's Eve - they were last seen by a pair of brothers who saw themselves in the crowd.

Presence

Location: Templemichael (County Waterford) - Templemichael Castle and ChurchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Several unconfirmed stories speak of this location being haunted, but no one can say for sure by whom or what.

Colman's Ducks

Location: Templeshanbo (County Wexford) - Church of TempleshanboType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A pond which could once be found here contained indestructible ducks. Animals which tried to hunt the ducks would be found dead, and one man who accidently took one of the birds home and put it in a cooking pot found his fires burnt cold until the duck was released.

Man in Black

Location: Tenby (Dyfed) - ChurchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Thought to be a former parish priest, this ghostly figure in a cassock walks down the aisle before fading away.

Marge in a Bridal Gown

Location: Terrington St Clement (Norfolk) - Parish Church, the 'Lovell' pewType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Every Sunday before Christmas (reoccurring)Further Comments: Legend says that the chest next to the west door once contained the remains of a bride who was trapped inside after a game of hide and seek went wrong. She is reported to emerge once a year to join in with the choir.

Lady Anne's Cracked Grave

Location: Tewin (Hertfordshire) - St Peter's ChurchType: LegendDate / Time: 1780 to presentFurther Comments: Not believing in an afterlife, during her earthly days Lady Anne Grimston scoffed that trees would ruin her tomb if she was wrong. Sure enough, her tomb is now ruined by a large tree that has split the stone open. One legend has the Devil appear near her grave every New Year's Eve, on the stroke of midnight.

Lady in White

Location: Thames Ditton (Surrey) - Home of Compassion churchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: Appearing quite real and substantial, the room that this sad shade haunts remained locked up for many years. She could be one of the nuns who once worked in the building.

Lights

Location: Thaxted (Essex) - Churchyard, Almshouse CottagesType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Corpse lights have been seen floating around an empty set of cottages which sit in the churchyard.

Banishing the Dog

Location: Thorne St Margaret (Somerset) - ChurchType: ShuckDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The ancient custom of 'clipping the church' once preceded the chasing of the black dog, which was thought to be Satan, out of the village's boundary.

Who Woke the Vicar's Wife?

Location: Thornton (Leicestershire) - St Peter's Church, and vicarageType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A vicar here was once forced to exorcise his own home after his wife complained she was being woken during the night by a ghost.

Moved Again

Location: Thriplow (Cambridgeshire) - ChurchType: Legend - Old NickDate / Time: Church still presentFurther Comments: The village folk wanted their church in a hollow by their homes, but the Devil had other plans, and moved it to the hill.

Romans

Location: Thundridge (Hertfordshire) - Area around Cold Christmas ChurchType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1940s (soldiers), 2009 (growling)Further Comments: Phantom Roman soldiers were spotted near the church by a female witness during the 1940s. More recently, there are local stories about phantom children, though no witnesses appear to exist. Another myth perpetuates the belief that the church is so called as most of the children buried here died around Christmas - it is more likely that the church is named after a cold Christmas that delayed its construction by several weeks. A local legend says the church brought ill-fortune to the area, as it was constructed facing the wrong direction. More recently, strange growling has been recorded in the empty church, though the sounds are most likely from a feral cat.

Location: Tilney All Saints (Norfolk) - ChurchyardType: LegendDate / Time: Eleventh Century?Further Comments: Tom Hickathrift, the Cambridge giant and hero, is said to have been buried here; his grave marked by a stone eight foot long.

Figure in a Top Hat

Location: Tilshead (Wiltshire) - St Thomas a Becket ChurchType: Unknown Ghost TypeDate / Time: 26 March 2012, morningFurther Comments: A ten year old girl became upset and left this church after she spotted a semi-transparent figure with grey hair and a top hat sitting in the box pews. When she started to return back inside the church, she saw the figure once again, sitting closer to the door.

Strange Light

Location: Timogue (County Laois) - ChurchyardType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This churchyard would be illuminated by unearthly light and night, and the locals whispered that fleeting white shapes could be seen darting between tombstones.

White Rabbit

Location: Tollesbury (Essex) - Tollesbury ChurchyardType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The white rabbit is said to appear at different times of the year, running about the churchyard.